tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-119722322024-03-12T23:16:58.408-07:00Wistful ThinkingTurboNedhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09717722356751345349noreply@blogger.comBlogger104125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11972232.post-54557960654550581382010-12-28T06:48:00.000-08:002010-12-28T06:48:28.292-08:00December, 2010I think I'm done with this now. Not the blog, necessarily. I mean, I imagine I'll continue my esoteric irregular unpredictable posting schedule of "whenever I feel like it," but I think I'm done with the anniversary posts.<br />
<br />
Well, we'll see in June.<div class="blogger-post-footer">This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 License.
If you redistribute any of this work, please link to this blog (<a href="http://turboned.blogspot.com">turboned.blogspot.com</a>) and attribute it to Brian Gilbert.</div>TurboNedhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09717722356751345349noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11972232.post-68648152427170893362010-06-20T08:46:00.000-07:002010-06-20T08:47:21.922-07:00Another of those days....And the time has come once again when I feel the need to wish her a happy birthday. So...happy birthday.<br /><br />I don't know that I remember my mother's birthday this well. *shifty eyes*<div class="blogger-post-footer">This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 License.
If you redistribute any of this work, please link to this blog (<a href="http://turboned.blogspot.com">turboned.blogspot.com</a>) and attribute it to Brian Gilbert.</div>TurboNedhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09717722356751345349noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11972232.post-68969690928936571932010-05-16T01:23:00.000-07:002010-05-16T01:26:06.000-07:00HUA?Him: grow up already.<br />Me: u first.<br />Him: lolwhu?<br />Me: dun wanna.<br />Him: So?<br /><br />Paraphrased <s>slightly</s> <s>significantly</s> dramatically.<div class="blogger-post-footer">This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 License.
If you redistribute any of this work, please link to this blog (<a href="http://turboned.blogspot.com">turboned.blogspot.com</a>) and attribute it to Brian Gilbert.</div>TurboNedhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09717722356751345349noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11972232.post-50834664432501158372010-03-05T23:38:00.000-08:002010-03-05T23:40:23.010-08:00Happy Tomorrowday!Tomorrow's the <a href="http://turboned.blogspot.com/2009/09/things-you-learn.html">big day</a>, or so I hear. But I think I like the idea of a holiday named Tomorrowday regardless.<div class="blogger-post-footer">This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 License.
If you redistribute any of this work, please link to this blog (<a href="http://turboned.blogspot.com">turboned.blogspot.com</a>) and attribute it to Brian Gilbert.</div>TurboNedhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09717722356751345349noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11972232.post-75979592032263365242010-02-12T00:59:00.000-08:002010-02-12T01:00:32.207-08:00Best Screensaver EverI support <a href="http://www.ozonehouse.com/Spirex/index.html">Spirex</a> as the best screensaver I've ever installed. It's the only screensaver I've found that I prefer to Blank Screen.<div class="blogger-post-footer">This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 License.
If you redistribute any of this work, please link to this blog (<a href="http://turboned.blogspot.com">turboned.blogspot.com</a>) and attribute it to Brian Gilbert.</div>TurboNedhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09717722356751345349noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11972232.post-8583405146776251832010-02-08T14:36:00.000-08:002010-02-08T14:40:08.814-08:00Some Simple Rules on How to Not Annoy Me (Part 2)Be consistent with the titling and numbering of a series that you do (ie: "<span style="font-style: italic;">Star Wars</span>, <span style="font-style: italic;">Empire Strikes Back</span>, and <span style="font-style: italic;">Return of the Jedi</span>" is bad. "<span style="font-style: italic;">A New Hope</span>, <span style="font-style: italic;">Empire Strikes Back</span>, and <span style="font-style: italic;">Return of the Jedi</span>" is good.)<br /><br />Also, don't split infinitives.<br /><br />Find the hidden jokes, win self-satisfaction for an hour.<div class="blogger-post-footer">This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 License.
If you redistribute any of this work, please link to this blog (<a href="http://turboned.blogspot.com">turboned.blogspot.com</a>) and attribute it to Brian Gilbert.</div>TurboNedhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09717722356751345349noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11972232.post-90246238193049912192009-12-24T22:30:00.000-08:002009-12-30T21:31:21.640-08:00On Avatar<div>If you want to skip the preamble and get to my review, go find the purple one-line review.</div><div><br /></div>When, years ago, I heard that James Cameron was (finally) making a new movie, I was happy. At the time, all I knew was that the title was <i>Avatar</i> and that it was in some way science-fictionish. This seemed like a good thing to me; I've enjoyed the sci-fi Cameron flicks that I've watched (haven't seen <i>Aliens</i> because I'm a pansy and can't handle remotely scary movies). <i>The </i><i>Terminator</i> was a good movie that made excellent use of available resources to produce a coherent, innovative flick. It went beyond simple action film because it was an unstoppable force meeting a squishy object. And somehow the squishy won. <i>The Abyss</i> is a movie that I first saw in my early teen years back when <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Laserdisc">laserdiscs</a> were fab.<div><br /></div><div>*returns from reading through most of that LaserDisc article*</div><div><br /></div><div>Anyway, I loved the story of <i>The Abyss</i> (the long version...you know, the one that makes sense), and was awed by the effort that went into the production of that film.</div><div><br /></div><div><i>Terminator 2: Judgement Day</i> was a spectacular piece of film making which was ambitious in its development of technology, presentation of effects, and continuation of storytelling. One of the few sequels to (according to the informal poll of my conversations with people over the years) exceed the quality and "goodness" of the original. I love this movie.</div><div><br /></div><div>Okay, that's a lot of rambling about movies that you didn't come here to read about. You want to know what I thought about <i>Avatar.</i> Well, recently I've found myself apathetic in general towards films, especially going to a movie theater to see them. First off: my only theater option has 8 screens. 3 are new, "state of the art" (in quotes because they're really not that great) theaters with nice screens, projectors, sound systems, and stadium seating. The other 5 are old and decrepit and not that great.</div><div><br /></div><div>The screen with the most seats is #2, one of the old and decrepit ones. That's where new blockbusters show up. Given that my options are to watch new blockbusters there in that setting, drive 90 miles to a respectable theater (it's already 30 to the one I just described), or wait for them to come out on DVD, I tend to go for the DVD option. You see, my parents have a 54" DLP TV, nice surround sound, and a house built in such a way that I can watch <i>National Treasure 2</i> cranked as loud as I want it while my parents sleep. The next day they asked why I didn't stay and watch a movie. I said, "Umm, I did. Loudly."</div><div><br /></div><div>Yeah, I like watching DVDs at their house. Some day they'll upgrade to <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blu-ray_Disc">Blu-ray</a> and I'll like it even more.</div><div><br /></div><div>Anyway, I was dragged (not especially kicking and screaming) to go see <i>Avatar</i> by someone who had already watched it and said it was good. I knew from experience that his taste in movies is less particular than mine, but for the most part I can gauge how well I'll like a movie from his reaction to it. My fears that I'd hate the movie were assuaged by his assurances that it was, in fact, not just an excuse for nine-tenths naked blue CGI aliens to run around a screen for 2 and a half hours showing off the amazing new effects that artists can create. <span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#8800ff;">It turns out that the movie was much better than I feared, though not as good as I had hoped.</span></div><div><br /></div><div>I'm pleased to report that this was a science fiction movie which . . . as far as I can recall . . . completely failed to annoy me with any of the little crimes sci fi movies are notorious (at least in my little mind) of committing. The technology was believable. The aliens were interesting. The fact that they were blue aliens with weird faces was sufficient to completely avoid the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Uncanny_valley">uncanny valley</a> effect. The story was solid (though not especially unpredictable), the characters consistent (and interesting and distinct), and the preachy-ness of the themes explored by the natives was less annoying than I had feared.</div><div><br /></div><div>In short, I recommend this movie as a solid science fiction action flick with lots of cool visuals, interesting concepts, characters, and plot. The story is not by any means breaking new ground or mind-blowing, but it is solid. The film delivers on its promise not to waste your time.</div><div class="blogger-post-footer">This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 License.
If you redistribute any of this work, please link to this blog (<a href="http://turboned.blogspot.com">turboned.blogspot.com</a>) and attribute it to Brian Gilbert.</div>TurboNedhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09717722356751345349noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11972232.post-27571453204310399202009-12-08T19:14:00.000-08:002009-12-08T19:18:58.849-08:00Some Simple Rules for Science Fiction Authors Looking Not to Annoy Me (Part 1)<p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>There are a number of unwritten rules about science fiction and fantasy which generally require adherence in order to make the story acceptable to an audience.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>These rules are different between the two seemingly dissimilar genres, but it's consistent application of one set or the other that helps a reader (or watcher) understand the universe he's learning about.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>For fantasy, nearly anything goes.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>An author may, at his whim, dictate any rule he so desires and give it no more explanation than "because that's the way it is."<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Who does this and does it well in the small sampling of his books that I've read?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Terry Pratchett.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>His Discworld series is zany, wacky, inexplicably weird — and it doesn't matter.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Whatever he says goes, and that's good enough for the reader.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>That doesn't mean that a fantasy author is required to invent all sorts of crazy rules; it just means that they're free to.</p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>A word of note: in fiction, the author has absolute say over what happens.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>It's his universe, his characters, and his rules.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>What follows is my opinion of how best to structure some of those rules so as not to annoy me.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>I don't consider myself an author, I don't have the patience to learn to write, and I respect those who try.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>I also acknowledge that every one of the "rules" I am about to write is a guideline that absolutely may be broken at the author's discretion.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>But I implore you to please take the time to give a really good reason for it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Don't just do it because it's convenient for the script.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>If you want to make arbitrary rules of how your universe works then you may want to consider fantasy writing instead of science fiction.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>There's plenty of fantasy that looks like science fiction (ever hear of this little series of movies, TV shows, books, comic books, and cereals called <i style="mso-bidi-font-style:normal">Star Wars</i>?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>That's classic fantasy (unexplained arbitrary rules and all) if ever I've seen it.</p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>The problems that I've found with storytelling arise when science fiction authors try to invent arbitrary rules that conflict with common sense, science, experience, etc.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>For example, the arbitrarily small and finite number of universes in the abysmal Jet Li movie <i style="mso-bidi-font-style:normal">The One</i>.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>It doesn't make any sense that the multiverse is composed of some finite small (I forget, but I think it was around 25) number of universes.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>The most rational explanation for multiple universes is that each one is different from the others in at least one small way, but since our universe is so big, it only makes sense that there be a ridiculously large number (infinitely, actually) of immensely tiny things to change.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>For example, the only difference between our universe and another one out there at this point in time is the direction that a single particle in the upper atmosphere of the earth moved.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Now, that difference will chain-reaction into many other differences.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>That particle will now interact with different particles in the two universes.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>The differences will branch out as all of those particles are interacting with different particles causing a completely different configuration of atmosphere particles in the different universes.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>This can cause different weather patterns in the future, meaning that perhaps hundreds or even thousands of years after the initial microscopic change, a macroscopic difference can be observed between the two.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Now imagine all of the air particles in the atmosphere and all of the different directions that they can move at any given time.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Then imagine how there's a universe spawned for each of the possibilities of each of those particles every instant.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Then imagine that at the same time, there's a universe spawned for each <i style="mso-bidi-font-style:normal">pair</i> of possibilities, each triplet, and so on.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Then take it a step further and think about every single particle in the entire universe.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Every instant.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>While you were comprehending the meaning of the period at the end of this sentence (something that usually takes a practically immeasurably small amount of time), an uncountably infinite number of so-called "alternate" universes spawned which are visually identical to our own, aside from the uncountably infinite number of ones which spawned that are macroscopically different.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>This is only considering the universes which spawn off of our own, of course.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Remember that each of the universes is spawning its own uncountably infinite number of universes every instant.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Is this absolute observed scientific fact?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>No, but it's the only rational (albeit dramatically simplified) explanation of multiple universes that I've ever read.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>If you're going to have parallel universes in your story that's fine (this is fiction after all), but don't arbitrarily dictate that there's some finite number of universes out there without giving a <i style="mso-bidi-font-style:normal">really good</i> explanation for it.</p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>More importantly, one should realize that there's absolutely no practical way to, by human means, revert the changes.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>How is it that you can force all of the air particles in Universe B (the universe that isn't "ours," but is the "alternate" universe in question) to have the exact same configuration (position, orientation, velocity, and energy) as Universe A at corresponding time-points?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Any attempt at meddling is sure to only exacerbate the problem leading to more profound and macroscopically observable differences.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>This shows up in time-travel stories.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>I want you to consider something: when your characters travel into the past (or send something into the past, or somehow affect the past), they're either going to affect the past or they're not. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>What they're <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal">not</i> going to do is affect the past, then <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal">fix</i> it somehow so that nothing's affected.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>As a trivial example of a story that (in its own way) did this right, I give you the first <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal">Back to the Future</i> movie.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Marty went back and screwed everything up.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Then he tried to fix it, but in the end, the universe that he ended up in was fundamentally different than the one he came from.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>It turned out that the differences were pleasant for him, so he liked it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>The story offers that it was plausible that he be able to fix everything to be exactly the same as the universe he came from, but we know that's impossible because Marty's presence in the past caused, if nothing else, the configuration of the atmosphere to be different.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>No matter what, the universe he would go to would be different than the one he came from.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Another story that dealt with time-travel in a very good way (in this critic's humble opinion) is the <i style="mso-bidi-font-style:normal">Millennium</i> trilogy of <i style="mso-bidi-font-style:normal">Deep Space Nine</i> novels by Judith and Garfield Reeves-Stevens.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>In there, characters from the future affect past events, but they're <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal">present</i> in the "first incarnation" of past events.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Thus, they don't change the past because they're always elements of the past.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Similarly, in <i style="mso-bidi-font-style:normal">Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure</i>, the main characters go into the past and have a conversation with themselves.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>But this doesn't change the past, it fulfills it because the conversation was first observed from their past selves.</p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>There's more I can write on this topic (I have many <i style="mso-bidi-font-style:normal">many</i> things I can tell you about ways you can avoid annoying me, whether you're a SciFi author or not), but I think this will do for now.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Please, take this, digest it, and start to think about some of the stories you've read or watched (or written?) in a more critical light.</p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>This post brought to you by the terrible atrocity that is <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal">The One</i> and the annoyance it has generated in me which has persisted for the past seven years or so.</p><div class="blogger-post-footer">This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 License.
If you redistribute any of this work, please link to this blog (<a href="http://turboned.blogspot.com">turboned.blogspot.com</a>) and attribute it to Brian Gilbert.</div>TurboNedhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09717722356751345349noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11972232.post-63485578338438084402009-09-12T13:03:00.001-07:002009-09-12T13:03:09.141-07:00The things you learn...<div xmlns='http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml'>Maybe I can move on with my life, having just heard that Lisa's engaged.<br /><br />Maybe.<br /><br />Well, now I don't have to wonder if *SHE'S* moved on anymore, at least. I wish them the best (I really do). And...I guess that's all I have to say about that.</div><div class="blogger-post-footer">This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 License.
If you redistribute any of this work, please link to this blog (<a href="http://turboned.blogspot.com">turboned.blogspot.com</a>) and attribute it to Brian Gilbert.</div>TurboNedhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09717722356751345349noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11972232.post-30669944941160859742009-09-07T01:45:00.001-07:002009-09-07T01:45:24.672-07:00Windows 7<div xmlns='http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml'>Microsoft may have finally managed to lure me away from Windows XP. For the first time ever, I'm actually interested in swapping to a new version of Windows as soon as it's released. I thought Vista would pull me in, but after about an hour of experimenting, I realized that I hated it.<br /><br />I've been running Linux (specifically <a href='http://www.kubuntu.com'>Kubuntu</a>) since December or so (whenever it was that I managed to break my computer so that Windows was good for about 5 minutes before bluescreening). Instead of bothering to fix Windows (Linux was intended to be a temporary solution), I just stuck with Linux because I managed to get most of the stuff I cared about working.<br /><br />For various definitions of "working," that is. Linux is great for what it is...but what it is isn't a desktop operating system for the masses. Sorry, people...Linux just isn't ready for the desktop.<br /><br />2009 wasn't the year, and I don't foresee 2010 being it either.<br /><br />Anyway, all that to say - I've seen lots of people say lots of good things about Windows 7 from the betas, and I got my hands on the Release Candidate and installed it...and I really like it. It's smooth and seamless and plays nicely with my hardware and most of my software...<br /><br />I expect to get my hands on a copy of Home Premium when it comes out.</div><div class="blogger-post-footer">This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 License.
If you redistribute any of this work, please link to this blog (<a href="http://turboned.blogspot.com">turboned.blogspot.com</a>) and attribute it to Brian Gilbert.</div>TurboNedhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09717722356751345349noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11972232.post-23620437424393068862009-06-20T23:00:00.000-07:002009-06-20T23:01:30.620-07:00Happy BirthdayIt's that time of year again. Happy birthday.<br /><br />Wish I could say more. Not that it matters, I have it on good authority that you don't know this exists. In all honesty, that's probably for the best. But I've not yet forgotten.<div class="blogger-post-footer">This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 License.
If you redistribute any of this work, please link to this blog (<a href="http://turboned.blogspot.com">turboned.blogspot.com</a>) and attribute it to Brian Gilbert.</div>TurboNedhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09717722356751345349noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11972232.post-42208041267438657812009-04-22T17:43:00.000-07:002009-04-22T18:04:23.304-07:00The Importance of Being ChristianI've had a few conversations in the recent past (recent past being that period of time between whenever "now" is for any given point of time and whenever "now" was at the time I posted in the blog three posts ago. If I blogged daily, then the recent past would be in the last 3 days. As it stands now...the recent past started about 4 months ago) which were trying to figure out why it's important to me that a significant other in my life be Christian. Either that or I imagined that these conversations happened (a very likely possibility. My memory over the last 4 months isn't perfect, and it's prone to invent conversations).<br />While driving home the other day, the reason hit me. I mean, it's never been an issue that was a question for me. I know that "she" (whomever "she" might be, someone I currently know or someone I haven't yet met) is, she'd have to be Christian, but it's important that I be able to explain to others why this is.<br />The easiest way I found to explain it is to just phrase some hypotheticals. Imagine that you met the woman<sup>1</sup> of your dreams, but she completely refuses to acknowledge the existence of your dad<sup>2</sup>. Now, I'm not saying that she ignores him or that she doesn't like him, but that she simply is convinced that he doesn't exist. She may put on airs that it's okay that you have conversations on the phone with him, she's polite (but condescending) when the two of you have dinner with your parents. She enjoys talking to your mother, but when any of you discuss Dad, she starts to look uncomfortable as though you're talking about an imaginary friend.<br />When Dad (who's right there at the table with you) tries to talk to her, she's oblivious.<br />Somehow, this situation is completely absurd when discussed in these terms, but when it comes to Christianity, non-Christians seem to puzzle over the fact that Christians can't seem to be bigoted and/or biased against people who refuse to subscribe to this "crazy notion" that God exists, interacts with us daily, and is a very real part of our day-to-day lives. I don't see where the puzzlement is. If those two people try to build a relationship, at the foundation is this part of each person which thinks (at best) that the other one is fundamentally crazy. And not the good kind of crazy.<br /><br /><sup>1</sup>I'm a guy and a chauvinist at that. My writing follows the absolutely "horrid" trend of using masculine pronouns instead of the socially-correct-but-stylistically-abhorrent "him or her" or even worse "s/he"-type constructs. I'm also going to write as though you're me and let you do the work of substituting the appropriate other characters/situations/whatever.<br /><br /><sup>2</sup>Everyone has someone in his or her life who is important to the person. It could be a relative or a good friend (or both). Whatever, it's not important. For sake of ease-of-writing, I'm going to refer to this person as "Dad." Replace this character with whomever makes sense for you.<div class="blogger-post-footer">This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 License.
If you redistribute any of this work, please link to this blog (<a href="http://turboned.blogspot.com">turboned.blogspot.com</a>) and attribute it to Brian Gilbert.</div>TurboNedhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09717722356751345349noreply@blogger.com12tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11972232.post-55152773103057045092008-12-30T01:55:00.000-08:002008-12-30T01:56:13.576-08:00Everybody needs...A <a href="http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/B00067F1CE/qid=1106249151/sr=8-1/ref=sr_8_xs_ap_i1_xgl236/102-4003697-7592909?v=glance&n=507846">Badonkadonk</a>.<div class="blogger-post-footer">This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 License.
If you redistribute any of this work, please link to this blog (<a href="http://turboned.blogspot.com">turboned.blogspot.com</a>) and attribute it to Brian Gilbert.</div>TurboNedhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09717722356751345349noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11972232.post-3553824373146640852008-12-14T09:00:00.000-08:002008-12-14T09:07:54.212-08:00My trip to Hollywood.So I went to Hollywood. And got my photo by some of the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dennis_muren">cooler stars</a> on the Walk of Fame. Here's one of those photos. More to come as I get them e-mailed to me.<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiaenuV3LuiZqEeL0Tvlxy25nH8u_cbpiKE-iJm0QvAH8slQ_5RyJbqhr2_XV3jyqtjtdJh8niQtn4JkZ_l7OACVW_JhhvX7DRwfEO1qeHZwRdwYoDoZoQk36SOuptwAyQ9pBF1/s1600-h/Wicked+019_small.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 150px; height: 200px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiaenuV3LuiZqEeL0Tvlxy25nH8u_cbpiKE-iJm0QvAH8slQ_5RyJbqhr2_XV3jyqtjtdJh8niQtn4JkZ_l7OACVW_JhhvX7DRwfEO1qeHZwRdwYoDoZoQk36SOuptwAyQ9pBF1/s200/Wicked+019_small.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5279692781222380434" border="0" /></a><div class="blogger-post-footer">This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 License.
If you redistribute any of this work, please link to this blog (<a href="http://turboned.blogspot.com">turboned.blogspot.com</a>) and attribute it to Brian Gilbert.</div>TurboNedhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09717722356751345349noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11972232.post-11599998269197272392008-12-11T07:27:00.000-08:002008-12-11T07:28:55.661-08:00Pet peeveWhen I'm standing in line for fast food and the person behind the counter says, "I can help whoever's next."<br /><br />I make a conscious decision every time I hear that not to tell the person that it's "whomever."<div class="blogger-post-footer">This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 License.
If you redistribute any of this work, please link to this blog (<a href="http://turboned.blogspot.com">turboned.blogspot.com</a>) and attribute it to Brian Gilbert.</div>TurboNedhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09717722356751345349noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11972232.post-41244294345640664492008-11-04T17:58:00.000-08:002008-11-04T18:01:38.127-08:00Yet another Oh Wow.This blog isn't going to become exclusively a place for me to post random cool videos that I come across, but that's all I really feel like talking about at the moment so it's all you get. <grin><br /><br />In the mean time - a highly entertaining acapella version of many of John Williams's themes.<br /><br /><object height="344" width="425"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/lk5_OSsawz4&hl=en&fs=1"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/lk5_OSsawz4&hl=en&fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" height="344" width="425"></embed></object></grin><div class="blogger-post-footer">This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 License.
If you redistribute any of this work, please link to this blog (<a href="http://turboned.blogspot.com">turboned.blogspot.com</a>) and attribute it to Brian Gilbert.</div>TurboNedhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09717722356751345349noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11972232.post-88393357429871056682008-10-12T15:18:00.000-07:002008-10-12T15:19:52.681-07:00Blizzcon 2008The photos I took. I may or may not annotate them in the future.<br /><br /><table style="width: 194px;"><tbody><tr><td style="background: transparent url(http://picasaweb.google.com/f/img/transparent_album_background.gif) no-repeat scroll left center; height: 194px; -moz-background-clip: -moz-initial; -moz-background-origin: -moz-initial; -moz-background-inline-policy: -moz-initial;" align="center"><a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/turboned/Blizzcon2008#"><img src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/turboned/SPJyNBbyyRE/AAAAAAAAALs/0HdwwzmbfwI/s160-c/Blizzcon2008.jpg" style="margin: 1px 0pt 0pt 4px;" height="160" width="160" /></a></td></tr><tr><td style="text-align: center; font-family: arial,sans-serif; font-size: 11px;"><a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/turboned/Blizzcon2008#" style="color: rgb(77, 77, 77); font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none;">Blizzcon 2008</a></td></tr></tbody></table><div class="blogger-post-footer">This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 License.
If you redistribute any of this work, please link to this blog (<a href="http://turboned.blogspot.com">turboned.blogspot.com</a>) and attribute it to Brian Gilbert.</div>TurboNedhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09717722356751345349noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11972232.post-8861263783770445132008-10-12T14:59:00.001-07:002008-10-12T15:00:56.431-07:00Wow.And for once, I'm not referring to a game.<br /><br />All I have to say to this is wow. Thanks, Jade.<br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">Star Trek: The Next Generation</span> Episode Guide<br /><a style="left: 0px ! important; top: 0px ! important;" title="Click here to block this object with Adblock Plus" class="abp-objtab-046722612872920566 visible ontop" href="http://www.youtube.com/v/BKZC0SuvS6s&hl=en&fs=1"></a><a style="left: 0px ! important; top: 0px ! important;" title="Click here to block this object with Adblock Plus" class="abp-objtab-046722612872920566 visible ontop" href="http://www.youtube.com/v/BKZC0SuvS6s&hl=en&fs=1"></a><a style="left: 0px ! important; top: 0px ! important;" title="Click here to block this object with Adblock Plus" class="abp-objtab-046722612872920566 visible ontop" href="http://www.youtube.com/v/BKZC0SuvS6s&hl=en&fs=1"></a><a style="left: 0px ! important; top: 0px ! important;" title="Click here to block this object with Adblock Plus" class="abp-objtab-046722612872920566 visible ontop" href="http://www.youtube.com/v/BKZC0SuvS6s&hl=en&fs=1"></a><object height="344" width="425"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/BKZC0SuvS6s&hl=en&fs=1"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/BKZC0SuvS6s&hl=en&fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowfullscreen="true" height="344" width="425"></embed></object><div class="blogger-post-footer">This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 License.
If you redistribute any of this work, please link to this blog (<a href="http://turboned.blogspot.com">turboned.blogspot.com</a>) and attribute it to Brian Gilbert.</div>TurboNedhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09717722356751345349noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11972232.post-10755603775579717962008-09-28T08:46:00.001-07:002008-09-28T08:48:31.646-07:00For what it's worth...I'm told that she's recovering well and is now walking around. That about covers everything I know. Yes, I sent her a Get Well/Thinking of You card, no I have not contacted her further and our mutual friends assure me that they encourage her not to contact me in response to the card.<div class="blogger-post-footer">This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 License.
If you redistribute any of this work, please link to this blog (<a href="http://turboned.blogspot.com">turboned.blogspot.com</a>) and attribute it to Brian Gilbert.</div>TurboNedhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09717722356751345349noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11972232.post-35479197693147481202008-08-18T05:17:00.000-07:002008-08-18T05:35:06.351-07:00"I don't know if you want to know, but..."I hate hearing things that start this way. Well, that's not fair. I just cringe when I hear that opening. The problem is that sometimes I do want to know and other times I don't. The only way to tell is to hear it, unfortunately. Then, after I decide that it's something I didn't want to hear, it's pretty easy to just go back in time to let the person telling me this story know that he can go merrily upon his way without letting me be any the wiser.<br /><br />So I don't actually intend for every other post on this blog to be about her. It just ends up that way - probably because she's still about the only thing that can really motivate me to have something to say, write it up, and then post it. I think this one's going up because I at least half-hope she'll read it. I don't know if she'll want to read it, but...well, she can always go back in time to tell herself how stupid of an idea it is if she finds out later that she didn't.<br /><br />So the rest of the story was, "...she called me last night." At this point I shrug. What does it matter to me if she calls people? It's something she does frequently. I know it. Heck, I encouraged it. Both in her and in the people I know. I have a lot of good friends. I could still be a good friend if it weren't for the fact that my heart is still so sunk into her that I couldn't *ONLY* be a friend. It's the largest single reason why I enforce a separation between us, no matter why she thinks it is that I don't want anything to do with her. Anyway, like I said, I have a lot of good friends and I couldn't see any good reason for her not to be friends with them too. They all know not to invite us to the same events, so it's fine.<br /><br />"She was in an accident last night." Oh. Now I start to feel bad about the shrug. It's not that I don't care. Quite the opposite. I think it's fair to say that I care more about her than I ever have about any person ever. That's present tense - I *still* care for her more than I ever *have* cared for any person ever. That says a lot, both about how I still feel for her, and also about the general apathy towards people that I seem to continually find myself in. It's not like I don't live with this huge list of things I know need improvement.<br /><br />For a long time, I've tossed around scenarios in my head. What would happen if one of us were to die? Would the other be invited to the funeral? Would the other *GO*? Would the other have anything to say? Stupid stuff like that. Personally, I don't care what she would choose to do. I mean, I don't care who wants to come to my funeral or what their reasons are. By the time such decisions have to be made, I'll be beyond the point of caring. Hopefully someone would let her know (I can think of at least 2 who would make a point to), and hopefully someone would let her know she's welcome to come (since I've never talked with this to anyone, I don't know if that'd happen or not). Would I go to hers? I don't know. Thankfully that's not a decision I have to make this morning.<br /><br />"Was it anything serious?" "A few broken bones, I think her pelvis and spine were damaged, but the doctors said it wasn't anything weight-bearing so there shouldn't be any permanent damage." Well, that's a relief. I mean, it's not as if our relationship ended on what can be termed a "happy" note, but I certainly don't wish her ill. I don't know if she's still the same person I fell in love with, but I know I'm not the same person she did.<br /><br />Anyway, having that conversation this morning with a friend as he picks up his laptop to head to Michigan to start another school year...a bit surreal. To her, I say "Get better." Maybe more to write will come later.<div class="blogger-post-footer">This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 License.
If you redistribute any of this work, please link to this blog (<a href="http://turboned.blogspot.com">turboned.blogspot.com</a>) and attribute it to Brian Gilbert.</div>TurboNedhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09717722356751345349noreply@blogger.com13tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11972232.post-82502541026357830302008-08-12T20:07:00.000-07:002008-08-12T20:08:00.149-07:00Movie Review: Wall-EGo see it, it ruled. Not the sort of ruled like bad movies or mediocre movies rule, but the sort of ruled like awesome movies rule. That is all.<div class="blogger-post-footer">This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 License.
If you redistribute any of this work, please link to this blog (<a href="http://turboned.blogspot.com">turboned.blogspot.com</a>) and attribute it to Brian Gilbert.</div>TurboNedhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09717722356751345349noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11972232.post-23913784501822366182008-08-11T22:22:00.000-07:002008-08-11T22:23:09.691-07:00Reinvention of the Blog...I've decided that to stimulate posting, I should change this blog to one where I do movie reviews. Lucky for me, I stopped going to movies in the theater. HAHAHA! Now I have an EXCUSE not to post.<div class="blogger-post-footer">This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 License.
If you redistribute any of this work, please link to this blog (<a href="http://turboned.blogspot.com">turboned.blogspot.com</a>) and attribute it to Brian Gilbert.</div>TurboNedhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09717722356751345349noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11972232.post-36967057881620361492008-06-20T03:31:00.001-07:002008-06-20T03:31:46.578-07:00Jarrt NgokjhatHappy Birthday to you.<br />Happy Birthday to you.<br />Happy Birthday, you who know who you are.<br />Happy Birthday to you.<div class="blogger-post-footer">This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 License.
If you redistribute any of this work, please link to this blog (<a href="http://turboned.blogspot.com">turboned.blogspot.com</a>) and attribute it to Brian Gilbert.</div>TurboNedhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09717722356751345349noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11972232.post-57074362000844659992008-05-31T21:18:00.000-07:002008-06-09T01:34:24.408-07:00Questions from Readers!Let's take a moment to address some questions that readers have sent in! Yes, that means that you too can send me a question and it may very well be responded to within your lifetime!<br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(153, 153, 255);">If he created all things perfect, if humans are perfect creations, why do we suffer? Why is there suffering? If God had a master plan, and knew any and everything that would ever happen, if he knew every thought anyone would ever have... why did he still build us to suffer?</span><br /><br />Wow, this is a big question. And it's one that people have been wrestling with for centuries. I don't expect to be able to provide a definitive answer that everyone will find satisfactory tonight. If you expect that out of me...well, you must assume I'm even more awesome than I do, and that's quite an accomplishment. <grin><br /><br />First, what is perfection? Is it really as simple as "being without flaw"? How would one know the difference between a flaw and a feature? If all humans have a certain characteristic (say, a tendency to lie when they believe they can get away with it), then can you correctly classify that as a flaw? Perhaps it's an intended design element. (I'm going to always write as though humans are in fact designed. It's not my place to argue for design vs. random happenstance. There are people who know biology, probability, history, archeology, and so many other things of importance much better than me much better suited to such arguments. I have been convinced of design, and I will only speak from that background.)<br /><br />The response to that question (How can we know whether these characteristics of humans are "bugs" or "features?") lies in the pattern from which humans were created. We were created in the "image of God,<sup><a href="http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Genesis%201:26;&version=47;">1</a></sup>" meaning that much of who we are comes from Who He is. Whatever characteristics of our character don't match with His are flaws.<br /><br />That's just a little something to start with for what it means to be perfect. In God's image, having His characteristics.<br /><br />Of course, one of the characteristics of God is His free will. He has the power, the right, and the authority to do anything He wants. In loving us and desiring to be truly loved BY us, He empowered us with the same ability. However, we do not have the right or the authority to do whatever we want, simply the power to do so. Much like a child has the power to disobey his parents, even when he doesn't have the right or the authority to do so.<br /><br />A long time ago, someone exercised this power in a way contrary to God's design. God allowed this because in loving His creation, He allowed it the freedom to exercise its power, even when that hurt Him. I am inclined to believe (though I have no theological proof for it) that this effected a genetic change (mutation, if you will) from what humanity was created as into something slightly different. Theologically, this is known as "Original Sin" - the concept that humans are born (conceived, actually) with sin as an aspect of their existence, separated from God by that sin. This is certainly a spiritual matter, but I would not be surprised at all to learn that there were measurable physical biological side effects. Unfortunately, we don't have Adam's pre-sin genetic code somewhere in a database to compare.<br /><br />(Side note for some people who may perhaps read this: I do not hold this as some fundamental aspect of my faith. This is merely an explanation/rationalization I have concocted to explain phenomena I have observed. It may be wrong, it's not as if there's Biblical statements to the effect that man's genetic code was altered by sin, or if there are, I haven't interpreted them as such.)<br /><br />But, to bring things back to the question originally posed, humans were not created to suffer. Humans were created to enjoy communion with God. Humans chose to separate themselves from God. It's our choice to operate outside of how we were designed which creates suffering. That choice was available to us because true love cannot exist without that choice.<br /></grin><div class="blogger-post-footer">This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 License.
If you redistribute any of this work, please link to this blog (<a href="http://turboned.blogspot.com">turboned.blogspot.com</a>) and attribute it to Brian Gilbert.</div>TurboNedhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09717722356751345349noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11972232.post-46663234856101338712008-02-26T18:07:00.000-08:002008-02-26T18:09:20.497-08:00Moved!My computer has finally moved in with me. It now sleeps under the same roof that I do. With luck, that means that I'll now be a bit more faithful to keep this site updated. For now, I've just been on the go go go! So we'll see what happens. No promises except that I promise that I won't completely forget about the existence of this blog...at least not this week.<div class="blogger-post-footer">This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 License.
If you redistribute any of this work, please link to this blog (<a href="http://turboned.blogspot.com">turboned.blogspot.com</a>) and attribute it to Brian Gilbert.</div>TurboNedhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09717722356751345349noreply@blogger.com0